Antonio Lamer

The Right Honourable Antonio Lamer PC CC CD
16th Chief Justice of Canada
In office July 1, 1990 – January 6, 2000
Nominated by	Brian Mulroney
Appointed by	Ray Hnatyshyn
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney Kim Campbell Jean Chrétien
Governor General	Ray Hnatyshyn Roméo LeBlanc Adrienne Clarkson
Preceded by	Brian Dickson
Succeeded by	Beverley McLachlin
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office March 28, 1980 – July 1, 1990
Nominated by	Pierre Trudeau
Appointed by	Edward Schreyer
Preceded by	Louis-Philippe Pigeon
Succeeded by	William Stevenson
Puisne Judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec
In office 1978–1980
2nd Communications Security Establishment Commissioner
In office June 19, 2003 – August 1, 2006
Preceded by	Claude Bisson
Succeeded by	Charles Gonthier
Personal details
Born	(1933-07-08)July 8, 1933 Montreal, Quebec
Died	November 24, 2007(2007-11-24) (aged 74) Ottawa, Ontario
Spouse	Danièle Tremblay-Lamer ​ ​ (m. 1987)​
Alma mater	Université de Montréal
Military service
Allegiance	Canadian Army
Branch/service	Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Canadian Intelligence Corps
Years of service	1950–1960

Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer, PC CC CD (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer, jurist and the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Career

Lamer practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare and Associates and was a full professor in the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, where he was also a lecturer in criminology.

On December 19, 1969, at the age of 36, he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court and to the Queen's Bench (Crown Side) of the province of Quebec. In 1978, he was elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1980. He was named Chief Justice on July 1, 1990 and retired on January 7, 2000.

He joined the law firm Stikeman Elliott in a senior advisory role and was appointed Associate Professor of Law at the Université de Montréal in 2000. He was appointed Communications Security Establishment Commissioner on June 19, 2003, a position he held until August 1, 2006. He also served as Honorary Colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guards.

In March 2003, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador chose Lamer to oversee an inquiry into how the criminal justice system dealt with three discredited murder convictions. The hearings lasted about three years. Specifically Lamer was tasked to conduct an investigation into the death of Catherine Carroll and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Gregory Parsons, and an investigation into the death of Brenda Young and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Randy Druken. Lamer was also asked to inquire as to why Ronald Dalton's appeal of his murder conviction took eight years before it was brought on for a hearing in the Court of Appeal.

Personal life

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Lamer served in the Royal Canadian Artillery from 1950 to 1954 and in the Canadian Intelligence Corps from 1954 to 1960. In 1956, he graduated in law from the Université de Montréal and was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1957.

In 1987, he married Danièle Tremblay-Lamer, who was later appointed a judge on the Federal Court.

During his tenure he was well known among the bench to be a frequent consumer of alcohol, especially wine, and have various drug prescriptions to deal with his declining health. Various commentators and even other judges have vocally critiqued these habits of his as reason for him to resign from the court.

He died in Ottawa of a cardiac condition on November 24, 2007.

Recognition

He was a Companion of the Order of Canada. He received honorary degrees from the Université de Moncton, University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia, and Saint Paul University.

From 1992 to 1998, Chief Justice Lamer was Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 62nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA.

Ribbon bars of Antonio Lamer

See also

• List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Lamer Court)
• Reasons of the Supreme Court of Canada by Chief Justice Lamer

External links

• Office of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner at the Wayback Machine (archived 2005-09-28)
• Supreme Court of Canada biography
• Order of Canada Citation at archive.today (archived 2007-09-30)